In the past few days, because Akhromeyev's troops have been resisting the repeated attacks of the German 11th Panzer Division and the 336th Infantry Division, although he has adopted reasonable tactics, the infantry holds the position, and at the same time concentrates the armored forces, repeatedly attacking the German troops in the process of marching, and the German army has suffered heavy losses. However, due to the difference in strength and equipment between the enemy and us, the 115th and 124th regiments that held their positions inevitably suffered a large number of casualties under the onslaught of the enemy.

After listening to Pugachev's report, Vitkov asked me with a worried face: "Comrade commander, what should we do?" Is it time to transfer the 149th Regiment as well? ”

I stared at the map in front of me and began to think about Vitkov's construction. After much deliberation, I found that this was not a good idea, as soon as the last remaining regiment of the 171st Division was thrown into battle, the city would be empty, and if the Germans bypassed our defensive positions and went straight to Poloy, the city would be in danger of being lost.

So I slowly shook my head and said to Vitkov: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff. Once we put the 149th Regiment into battle again, then Poloy City will become an empty city. If the German troops had bypassed Major Akhromeyev's defense zone and attacked the city, do you think the city would have been able to hold it? ”

"Since the 149th Regiment in the city cannot be used, why don't you return the withdrawn Godunov Regiment to Akhromeyev command?" Seeing that the first building yì I denied, Vitkov immediately raised the second built yì, "although in these days of fighting. Their regiment suffered no small casualties. But the combat effectiveness is still very strong. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Although I didn't want to hurt Vitkov's face, I still stubbornly denied the second proposal he proposed, "Don't forget, our main goal now is to seize Zaporosh as much as possible. At this moment, the 22nd Guards Division, tank brigade, and artillery regiment, which were attacking the fortifications in front, were stubbornly resisted by the Germans, if not reinforced by troops. They could not break through the German lines. ”

Seeing that his proposal had been repeatedly rejected by me, Vitkov became a little impatient, and after walking back and forth to the headquarters twice, he stopped, turned to me, and said: "Comrade commander, at present the main forces of the army group are advancing smoothly and are approaching Zaporosh from our north. Since the north of our army is full of friendly troops, there is no need for the right flank of the 22nd Guards Division to defend with another division. I left one regiment to defend at Huli Aberle, and the other two regiments were transferred to the southern outskirts of the Kuban and Poloy to reinforce the troops of Pandereev's division and Major Akhromeyev. ”

Although I was always worried about the 22nd Guards Division, which was on offensive duty. There was a possibility of being cut off from the flanks by the Germans. However, judging from the series of victories achieved by the Southwestern Front in the past two days, I feel that I am a little unfounded. After all, our army had just won the battle for the defense of Stalingrad. The Germans, who had suffered a crushing defeat, were demoralized. I even began to doubt my own judgment, judging from the current shape, our army does not look like it will lose the battle, after all, our troops are several times more than the German army, even if a few people are exchanged for one, there is still a surplus.

It was I who doubted myself, so I did not refuse Vitkov's new suggestion again, but seriously considered it: since the north is full of our friendly troops, it would be a bit of a waste to leave an entire division in the city of Huli Ebol. Anyway, my current strength is insufficient, so let's transfer it over first to solve the current predicament.

Just as I was about to accede to Vitkov's request, my reason stopped me again. It was as if someone in my head was constantly saying to me: "Until the situation is clear, Gurdiev's 308th Division cannot be used casually." It was because of this inexplicable voice that my words came to my lips, and when I said them, they became other contents: "Chief of Staff, although what you said is very reasonable, the 308th Division cannot move until the enemy situation is known. ”

When I saw that he was about to say something when he opened his mouth, I raised my hand to stop him, and said first: "Chief of Staff, I plan to go to the Kuban to see how the situation is there, and the command will be handed over to you for the time being." Then I bowed my head and politely asked Kirillov for his opinion: "Comrade commissar, would you like to go with me to the Kuban to see what is going on there?" ”

"All right, Comrade Oshanina." Kirillov stood up from his position, straightened his uniform, and said decisively: "We have been in the command headquarters for too long, and we should go out for a walk." ”

While the two of us were sitting in the jeep bound for the Kuban, Kirillov suddenly asked me in a low voice: "Comrade Oshanina, I would like to ask a question, is that okay?" ”

Although I didn't understand why Kirillov would say this, I habitually nodded and said: "Comrade commissar, if you have something, don't go around in circles, just open your mouth." ”

Kirillov's eyes quickly glanced at the driver in the front row, and then asked thoughtfully: "Just now Colonel Vitkov is right, the main force of the army group has approached Zaporosh from the north, that is to say, at present, on the right flank of our army, it is your own friendly troops, but why do you put a whole division in Huli Abora in one more move?" Moreover, this division was also a unit that had made many achievements in the Battle of Stalingrad, so why should they be used as a garrison? ”

I was silent for a long time about Kirillov's question, and then I said slowly: "Comrade Political Commissar, the reason why I decided to let the Bipantai Reyev Division as the main force of the army take charge of the fortification, and put the two divisions on the two flanks, was that I was worried that the speed of their assault would be too fast, and that their weak flanks would be exposed to the enemy, and once they were encircled, there would be a danger that the whole army would be annihilated. Judging from the recent battles, I again have doubts about my own judgment, and the German army, under the continuous blows of our troops, can barely parry, and is retreating one after another. Perhaps it will not be long before they abandon Zaporosh and flee to the other side of the Dnieper. ”

After listening to my heartfelt words, Kirillov pondered for a moment, and then asked rhetorically: "Comrade Oshanina, do you have doubts about the victory of our army?" ”

I nodded habitually. Suddenly it turned out that Kirillov's topic was too sensitive. He quickly shook his head again. Panicked, he replied: "How can this be, Comrade Political Commissar." You know, I have never doubted that we will eventually defeat the enemy. My fear was that in the next battle, the Germans would adopt the usual tactics of detouring to the flanks of our attacking forces and cutting our troops in two. ”

"Comrade Oshanina. Your fears are well founded. "Kirilov is clearly overly optimistic that we will win this battle. He said confidently: "But at this time and at that time, our army is currently occupying the initiative on the battlefield, and it is simply impossible to block our attack with the few troops that the German army has." If we don't move a little faster and let the rest of our allies rush into Zaporosh first, you will miss another chance to capture the German marshal. ”

Kirillov's words filled my heart with a sense of loss. Half a month ago, my troops were only a few blocks away from Paulus's headquarters. As a result, an order from my superiors came down, and my troops turned north. went to attack the German Northern Cluster, giving up an opportunity to make a great contribution to the 64th Army. If I let the friendly troops rush into Zaporosh again this time, I would be making a wedding dress for someone else.

Thinking of this, I coughed and said to Kirillov with a stern expression: "Comrade commissar, wait until we go to the Kuban to see the specific situation at the front, and then decide how to use General Gurdityev's 308th Division." You see, is that good? ”

"I hope you can make the right decision quickly after seeing the situation in the Kuban." Kirillov said with some gaffe: "If we don't move faster, our hard work in the past few days will be in vain." ”

Pantai Leev, who received the notice, was waiting for us at the entrance to the eastern outskirts of the city with several fighters. Seeing the crowd that had come to welcome us, Kirillov reached out and patted the driver on the shoulder, telling him to pull over to the side of the road.

As soon as the jeep stopped, Bantai Leev trotted all the way up and took the initiative to open the door for me. Without waiting for me to speak, he first began to report to his work: "Comrade Army Commander, let me first report to you on the current combat situation. ”

I raised my hand to stop what he was going to say later, and said to myself: "General Bandereev, Zaporosh is only a few dozen kilometers away from us, but what about you? You and your troops, held back by the Germans, have been here for several days and nights, and still haven't advanced even a single step. ”

Hearing my criticism, an embarrassed expression appeared on Bandereev's face, and he muttered: "Comrade commander, we have done our best, facing the anti-aircraft guns specially used to fight tanks on the enemy's position, our commanders and fighters rushed forward without hesitation, but unfortunately the enemy's firepower was too fierce, and apart from causing certain casualties, no progress was made at all. ”

I waited for Pantai Leyev to finish complaining, and then he said: "Comrade division commander, I want to see the situation on the battlefield, where is your observation post, take me and the political commissar there." ”

Since Pandereev said that it would take at least half an hour to walk to the other side of the city, Kirillov and I got back into the car and let the driver follow the car of Pandereev, who was guiding us in the way.

I looked through the car window at the city that we had just reclaimed, and the collapse of the buildings on both sides of the street was the most severe, and further inside, the buildings scattered all remained largely intact, and it seemed that the street battles that had occurred some time ago were mainly concentrated in the buildings on both sides of the street.

While I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard Kirillov cough heavily, and then I heard him ask me: "Comrade Oshanina, I have noticed that something seems to be wrong with your feelings these days, has something troubled me?" ”

I turned my head to look at Kirillov and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Political Commissar, you and I have not been short of time, you should know that I like to go to the grassroots troops to see when the battle is going on." However, since he became the commander of this army, he has been hiding in the headquarters every day, directing the battle according to the battle reports and maps he has received, and it is difficult to accurately understand the accurate situation on the battlefield. ”

When Kirillov heard me say this, he nodded thoughtfully, and then said to me in a serious voice: "Comrade Oshanina, the senior commander is just like you, who stays in the headquarters every day, looks at the map in front of him, and adjusts his troop deployment and battle plan according to the battle reports received. You can't do this, with your ability, you will definitely not end up with a small army commander, and you may take on more important positions in the future, so you must get used to the existing command style, after all, you are the commander of an army and not a small company commander. It's no longer your turn to charge, all you have to do is how to command the battle in the command based on the information you have. ”

When our car arrived at its destination, Pantai Laiev led us into a four-story building. As I walked up the stairs, Pantai Laiev took the initiative to introduce me and said: "Comrade Commander, my headquarters is located on the fourth floor, from where you can clearly see the situation on the battlefield in general and complete. ”

I stood in front of the gap in the wall, raised my binoculars and looked into the distance: I saw that the snow that was originally white was now full of craters and charred ground left by the explosion, and the traces of tank crushing were clearly visible on the snow, as well as the remains of tanks left by our army. Probably because the battle did not end for long, and the wreckage of our tanks continued to burn.

Bandereev walked up to me, pointed to the German positions in the distance, and introduced to me: "Comrade commander, look at it, this is the artillery position of the German army. They converted the 88-mm anti-aircraft guns into anti-tank guns, and the tanks we lost were destroyed by the fact that the anti-aircraft guns penetrated the frontal armor. ”

I looked in the direction of his finger and saw the improvised artillery positions of the Germans in the middle of the snow, almost all 88mm anti-aircraft guns. This weapon is really the nemesis of our tanks, and if you do not destroy this artillery position, it is almost impossible to continue the assault forward.

I frowned and asked Pantai Leev: "Comrade division commander, where did the Germans get so many anti-aircraft guns?" ”

Hearing my question, Bandereev shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I don't know. When we attacked the Kuban, according to the reports of the scouts, there were no enemy artillery positions here. When we occupied the Kuban and were going to move forward, the enemy's artillery stood in front of us, as if coming out of the ground. (To be continued......)

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